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Fire engulfs over 100 homes near mine site in Palawan

A major fire completely razed to ground over a hundred homes at Sitio Marabajay, Barangay Rio Tuba near the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC) and Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC) over the week, a report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said Tuesday.

In local interviews, SFO1 Jomar Nueva said initial investigation they conducted claimed the fire may have started from the faulty electrical wiring in the home of another resident.

The home was reportedly empty with residents but some of its electrical appliances and its lights were switched on and were plugged.

With the number of homes gutted, over a hundred families are now without homes and are staying in temporary evacuation centers from Marabajay near a river. At least 20 million worth of properties were lost, including vehicles and several stores.

Further investigation into the cause of the fire is standard operating procedure (SOP), according to the fire officer.

Incidentally, the homes that were destroyed by the fire used to stand near the river with the same name, which is habitat for saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) that are known lately to attack residents.

With the fire incident, barangay and municipal authorities are now seriously considering the permanent relocation of families with a proposal to build affordable homes for them away from the river.

Barangay Rio Tuba Chairman Gomer Miano said a private company has proposed to the municipal government a low-cost housing project ever since, and the homeless residents of Marabajay can avail of this to have permanent homes away from the danger of being attacked by the saltwater crocodiles.

The same was pronounced by Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Maria Erlinda Quisto, who told local interviews that with the low-cost housing, the residents of Marabajay will have a new chance from the fire incident.

She also said that with it, their homes will no longer stand closely to each other which is really dangerous and prone to fire.

The fire at Marabajay was declared under control around 3 a.m. Sunday with fire truck support from the RTNMC and CBNC, as well as private individuals, who own trucks that transported receptacles filled with water. (PNA)